Abstract

Abstract Atom probe tomography has primarily been used for atomic scale characterization of high electrical conductivity materials. A high electrical field applied to needle-shaped specimens evaporates surface atoms, and a time of flight measurement determines each atom's identity. A 2-dimensional detector determines each atom's original position on the specimen. When repeated successively over many surface monolayers, the original specimen can be reconstructed into a 3-dimensional representation. In order to have an accurate 3-D reconstruction of the original, the field required for atomic evaporation must be known a-priori. For many metallic materials, this evaporation field is well characterized, and 3-D reconstructions can be achieved with reasonable accuracy.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call